Dynamic geofencing based on an availability of a product

ABSTRACT

Approaches presented herein enable creating a dynamic geofence based on an availability of a product to optimize a flow of customers to a venue. Specifically, a geofence at a venue (e.g., retail outlet, restaurant, ticket office, etc.) is established based on a reference point and an area having a range. A campaign related to a product (e.g., a sales promotion, etc.) is associated with the established geofence. An aspect of the established geofence is dynamically modified based on an availability of the product in order to optimize the flow of customers to the venue.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to location-based services and, morespecifically, to creating a dynamic geofence based on an availability ofa product to optimize a flow of customers to a venue.

BACKGROUND

Geofencing typically involves a feature in a software program that usesthe global positioning system (GPS) or radio frequency identification(RFID) to define geographical boundaries. Geofencing, or using ageofence, generally involves providing an alert or notification when aperson or object enters and/or exits a predefined virtual perimeter orboundary threshold. Geofencing has been used in connection withlocation-based service applications or social networking applications totransmit content, such as coupons or “check-in” status, to users of therespective applications.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present invention enable creating adynamic geofence based on an availability of a product to optimize aflow of customers to a venue. Specifically, a geofence at a venue (e.g.,retail outlet, restaurant, ticket office, etc.) is established based ona reference point and an area having a range. A campaign related to aproduct (e.g., a sales promotion, etc.) is associated with theestablished geofence. An aspect of the established geofence isdynamically modified based on an availability of the product in order tooptimize the flow of customers to the venue.

One aspect of the present invention includes a computer-implementedmethod for creating a dynamic geofence related to a venue, the methodcomprising: establishing, based on a reference point and an area havinga range, the dynamic geofence; associating a campaign related to aproduct with the dynamic geofence; and optimizing a flow of customers tothe venue by modifying an aspect of the dynamic geofence based on anavailability of the product.

Another aspect of the present invention includes a computer programproduct for creating a dynamic geofence related to a venue, and programinstructions stored on the computer readable storage device, to:establish, based on a reference point and an area having a range, thedynamic geofence; associate a campaign related to a product with thedynamic geofence; and optimize a flow of customers to the venue bymodifying an aspect of the dynamic geofence based on an availability ofthe product.

Yet another aspect of the present invention includes a computer systemfor creating a dynamic geofence related to a venue, the computer systemcomprising: a memory medium comprising program instructions; a buscoupled to the memory medium; and a processor for executing the programinstructions, the instructions causing the system to: establish, basedon a reference point and an area having a range, the dynamic geofence;associate a campaign related to a product with the dynamic geofence; andoptimize a flow of customers to the venue by modifying an aspect of thedynamic geofence based on an availability of the product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an architecture 10 in which the invention may beimplemented according to illustrative embodiments;

FIG. 2 shows a first schematic diagram 200 illustrating an exemplaryenvironment for implementation according to illustrative embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows a second schematic diagram 295 illustrating an exemplaryenvironment for implementation according to illustrative embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram 400 illustrating a dynamic geofencingmechanism 72 according to illustrative embodiments;

FIG. 5A shows an example map 500 according to illustrative embodiments;

FIG. 5B shows an example map 550 according to illustrative embodiments;and

FIG. 6 shows a process flowchart 600 for creating a dynamic geofencebased on an availability of a product to optimize a flow of customers toa venue according to illustrative embodiments.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merelyrepresentations, not intended to portray specific parameters of theinvention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodimentsof the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting inscope. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Illustrative embodiments will now be described more fully herein withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrativeembodiments are shown. It will be appreciated that this disclosure maybe embodied in many different forms and should not be construed aslimited to the illustrative embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of this disclosure to thoseskilled in the art.

Furthermore, the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting of this disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”,“an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unlessthe context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the use of theterms “a”, “an”, etc., do not denote a limitation of quantity, butrather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.Furthermore, similar elements in different figures may be assignedsimilar element numbers. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising”, or “includes” and/or “including”, whenused in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that termssuch as “processing”, “detecting”, “determining”, “evaluating”,“receiving”, or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of acomputer or computing system, or similar electronic data center device,that manipulates and/or transforms data represented as physicalquantities (e.g., electronic) within the computing system's registersand/or memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computing system's memories, registers or othersuch information storage, transmission, or viewing devices. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

As stated above, embodiments of the present invention enable creating adynamic geofence based on an availability of a product to optimize aflow of customers to a venue. Specifically, a geofence at a venue (e.g.,retail outlet, restaurant, ticket office, etc.) is established based ona reference point and an area having a range. A campaign related to aproduct (e.g., a sales promotion, etc.) is associated with theestablished geofence. An aspect of the established geofence isdynamically modified based on an availability of the product in order tooptimize the flow of customers to the venue.

Geofencing uses global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates toencapsulate a geographic area and takes a mobile device user's (who hasopted in to receive push notifications via a mobile device) locationdata via GPS to determine his/her proximity to that particular region(whether they are inside or outside or if they just went in and came outof that particular area in a matter of seconds). A typical function ofgeofencing is to allow marketers to send messages to mobile device userswhen the users enter a defined geographic area, such as a retail store,stadium, shopping mall, etc. Part of this technology involves setting atransmittal range for who will receive these notifications.

The inventors of the invention described herein have recognized certaindeficiencies in known methods for defining a geofence. Many commongeofencing scenarios (i.e., static geofences) are based on a simpleradius around a point of interest, like a retail location. Using astatic geofence may diminish the very power of using location data in amobile marketing campaign. For example, it may be helpful to retailersto allow an availability of a particular product to determine the rangeof the geofence. By doing this, a retailer can attract more customers totargeted products based on its availability. The approaches describedherein provide a seamless way for creating a dynamic geofence based onan availability of the product.

In certain embodiments, an advantage of this approach is its reductionof computing overhead. Computing overhead is generally considered anycombination of excess or indirect computation time, memory, bandwidth,or other resources that are required to attain a particular goal. Byoptimizing the consumption of computing resources by modifying the rangeof the area of the geofence at a venue, the computing overhead isreduced to only what is necessary to attract a desired number ofcustomers. Also, by reducing consumption of computing resources, thisapproach increases the number of users (i.e., system capacity) that canbe accommodated. Further, the relevance of a given geofence to a user'smobile device impacts the consumption of resources on the mobile deviceitself, since the geofence is dynamic.

This approach also improves the fundamental operation of the system as awhole. The geofence is defined dynamically to include a decreasedgeographic size so as to limit the exposure of the offer, or in othersituations the geographic size is expanded so as to increase theexposure of the offer. This approach optimizes the flow of potentialcustomers to the particular venue. Having a geographic size too smallmay prevent attracting a desired number of customers to the venue.Having a geographic size too large may present other issues, such aswasted computing resources, both of the system itself and mobile devicesof those within the geofence, as discussed above.

In addition, if the venue were to turn away would-be customers, thenthis action may affect the reputation of the venue with those turnedaway by increasing negative sentiment with those would-be customers.However, by dynamically defining the geographic size of the geofencebased on an availability of a product, this approach provides optimalthroughput of customers to the venue while reducing the likelihood ofgenerating negative sentiment. As such, there exists a geographic sizethat is predicted to attract the desired number of customers to thevenue and still minimizes consumption of computing resources to within athreshold (i.e. the geographic size is optimal).

Referring now to FIG. 1, a computerized implementation 10 of anembodiment for creating a dynamic geofence based on an availability of aproduct to optimize a flow of customers to a venue will be shown anddescribed. Computerized implementation 10 is only one example of asuitable implementation and is not intended to suggest any limitation asto the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, computerized implementation 10 is capableof being implemented and/or performing any of the functionality setforth hereinabove.

In computerized implementation 10, there is a computer system/server 12,which is operational with numerous other general purpose or specialpurpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples ofwell-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations thatmay be suitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but arenot limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

This is intended to demonstrate, among other things, that the presentinvention could be implemented within a network environment (e.g., theInternet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), avirtual private network (VPN), etc.), a cloud computing environment, acellular network, or on a stand-alone computer system. Communicationthroughout the network can occur via any combination of various types ofcommunication links. For example, the communication links can compriseaddressable connections that may utilize any combination of wired and/orwireless transmission methods. Where communications occur via theInternet, connectivity could be provided by conventional TCP/IPsockets-based protocol, and an Internet service provider could be usedto establish connectivity to the Internet. Still yet, computersystem/server 12 is intended to demonstrate that some or all of thecomponents of implementation 10 could be deployed, managed, serviced,etc., by a service provider who offers to implement, deploy, and/orperform the functions of the present invention for others.

Computer system/server 12 is intended to represent any type of computersystem that may be implemented in deploying/realizing the teachingsrecited herein. Computer system/server 12 may be described in thegeneral context of computer system executable instructions, such asprogram modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, programmodules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, datastructures, and so on, that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. In this particular example, computersystem/server 12 represents an illustrative system for creating adynamic geofence based on an availability of a product to optimize aflow of customers to a venue. It should be understood that any othercomputers implemented under the present invention may have differentcomponents/software, but can perform similar functions.

Computer system/server 12 in computerized implementation 10 is shown inthe form of a general-purpose computing device. The components ofcomputer system/server 12 may include, but are not limited to, one ormore processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28, and a bus 18that couples various system components including system memory 28 toprocessor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Processing unit 16 refers, generally, to any apparatus that performslogic operations, computational tasks, control functions, etc. Aprocessor may include one or more subsystems, components, and/or otherprocessors. A processor will typically include various logic componentsthat operate using a clock signal to latch data, advance logic states,synchronize computations and logic operations, and/or provide othertiming functions. During operation, processing unit 16 collects androutes signals representing inputs and outputs between external devices14 and input devices (not shown). The signals can be transmitted over aLAN and/or a WAN (e.g., T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25), broadband connections(ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM), wireless links (802.11, Bluetooth, etc.), andso on. In some embodiments, the signals may be encrypted using, forexample, trusted key-pair encryption. Different systems may transmitinformation using different communication pathways, such as Ethernet orwireless networks, direct serial or parallel connections, USB,Firewire®, Bluetooth®, or other proprietary interfaces. (Firewire is aregistered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Bluetooth is a registeredtrademark of Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)).

In general, processing unit 16 executes computer program code, such asprogram code for creating a dynamic geofence based on an availability ofa product to optimize a flow of customers to a venue, which is stored inmemory 28, storage system 34, and/or program/utility 40. While executingcomputer program code, processing unit 16 can read and/or write datato/from memory 28, storage system 34, and program/utility 40.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia, (e.g., VCRs, DVRs, RAID arrays, USB hard drives, optical diskrecorders, flash storage devices, and/or any other data processing andstorage elements for storing and/or processing data). By way of exampleonly, storage system 34 can be provided for reading from and writing toa non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typicallycalled a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive forreading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk(e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive for reading from orwriting to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM,DVD-ROM, or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, eachcan be connected to bus 18 by one or more data media interfaces. As willbe further depicted and described below, memory 28 may include at leastone program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modulesthat are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of theinvention.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium including, but not limited to, wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, radio-frequency (RF), etc., or anysuitable combination of the foregoing.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation. Memory28 may also have an operating system, one or more application programs,other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system,one or more application programs, other program modules, and programdata or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of anetworking environment. Program modules 42 generally carry out thefunctions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention asdescribed herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a consumer to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via I/O interfaces22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 can communicate with one ormore networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via networkadapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system/server 12 via bus 18. It should beunderstood that although not shown, other hardware and/or softwarecomponents could be used in conjunction with computer system/server 12.Examples include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers,redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems,tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

FIG. 2 shows schematic diagram 200 illustrating an exemplary environmentfor performing geofencing actions. As depicted in FIG. 2, diagram 200includes a geofencing server 220 connected via one or more datacommunication links to a plurality of content servers 230. Geofencingserver 220 may communicate with content servers 230 via a data networksuch as the Internet using TCP/IP or any other suitable datapacket-switching protocol. HTTP requests to content servers 230 may besent by geofencing server 220 to retrieve content from content servers230.

As shown in FIG. 2, the geofencing server 220 is also connected to amobile device 210. Geofencing server 220 may communicate with mobiledevice 210 through a data network, e.g., the Internet 240, and via awireless network that includes a base transceiver station 250 for radiofrequency (RF) communication with mobile device 210 using GSM, LTE,CDMA, or any other cellular technology. Data packet transmission overthe air may be accomplished using GPRS, EDGE, Evolved EDGE, HSPA, etc.Instead of a single geofencing server (i.e., geofencing server 220),there may be a server cluster, server farm, or cloud environmentfunctioning as the geofencing server in other embodiments.

As further depicted in FIG. 2, GPS (or other GNSS) satellites 260transmit signals (e.g., RF signals) to mobile device 210 to enablemobile device 210 to generate current location data representing thecurrent location of the mobile device. Current location data may also beobtained using other techniques. For example, Wi-Fi positioning based onnearby Wi-Fi routers 270 may be used. Other location techniques may beemployed to determine location data (e.g., using cellular RF signalsfrom the nearby base station transceiver(s) 250).

FIG. 3 depicts a data flow (or message flow) 295 in the system of FIG.2. In this example, there is a circular geofence 290 for an area in acity or metropolitan area, although the shape of the geofence and thefact that it is in a city or metropolitan area (as opposed to a suburbanor rural area) is arbitrary. Geofence 290 may be drawn by an authorizeduser or selected from predetermined geofences by the authorized user. Anauthorized user may include a marketing manager or other person havingthe proper credentials to perform the function. The geofence may also bedisplayed on a map 292 of the city or area to enable the user to viewthe extent or scope of geofence 290. In operation, mobile device 210 maydetermine its current location based on signals from the GPS satellites260 or Wi-Fi routers 270 (or by using other position-determiningtechniques). Mobile device 210 transmits current location data (message204) to geofencing server 220. Message 204 may be sent periodically,intermittently, or based on a schedule.

Geofencing server 220 receives the location data from mobile device 210,determines whether any geofence conditions are met (the device hasentered a geofence, has left a geofence, has continued to remain insidea geofence, etc.) Geofencing server 220 then obtains the data requiredfor the geofence. This data may be cached at geofencing server 220, butin most cases, geofencing server 220 will obtain this required data fromone or more content servers 230. A request 206 is thus sent by thegeofencing server 220 to the appropriate content server 230. A response208 is sent back from the content server 230 to geofencing server 220,which may cache this data for mobile device 210. Geofencing server 220then sends or pushes the data (via message 210 in the form of a datagramor data packets) to mobile device 210 either immediately upon receiptfrom content server 230, based on a push schedule, or in response to arequest from mobile device 210 to download any available data. Mobiledevice 210 then uses or displays the content or performs anydevice-executable actions.

FIGS. 2-3 include a depiction of a wireless communications device as oneexample of a mobile device that may be used in conjunction with thefunctions described herein. Examples of a mobile device or wirelesscommunications device include cell phones, smart phones, mobile phones,portable digital assistants, tablets, notebooks, laptops, or any othersuch portable or handheld electronic communications devices.

Referring now to FIG. 4, block diagram 400 describing the functionalitydiscussed herein according to an embodiment of the present invention areshown. It is understood that the teachings recited herein may bepracticed within any type of computing environment (e.g., computersystem/server 12). To this extent, the teachings recited herein may bepracticed within a stand-alone computer system or within a networkedcomputing environment (e.g., a client-server environment, peer-to-peerenvironment, distributed computing environment, cloud computingenvironment, and/or the like). If the teachings recited herein arepracticed within a networked computing environment, each physical serverneed not have a dynamic geofencing mechanism 72 (hereinafter “system72”). Rather, system 72 could be loaded on a server (e.g., geofencingserver 220) or server-capable device that communicates (e.g.,wirelessly) with the physical server to provide the functions describedherein. Regardless, as depicted, system 72 can be implemented asprogram/utility 40 on computer system/server 12 of FIG. 1 and can enablethe functions recited herein. It is further understood that system 72may be incorporated within or work in conjunction with any type ofsystem that receives, processes, and/or executes commands with respectto IT resources in a networked computing environment. Such othersystem(s) have not been shown in FIG. 4 for brevity purposes.

Consider the example described below. ACME Fitness, a sporting goodsretailer, wants to promote a particular product (e.g., ABC brand runningshoes) by creating a dynamic geofence to enable push notifications tomobile device users who have opted in to the service. Referring now toFIGS. 5A-B, in conjunction with FIG. 4, geofence definition component410 of system 72, as executed by computer system/server 12, isconfigured to define a geofence based on input (e.g., center pointlocation, range, etc.) received from an authorized user (e.g., marketingmanager). An initial geofence may be defined and established based on areference point, for example using GPS data comprising latitude andlongitude along with some predetermined area based on range or distance.In this manner, the authorized user need not manually specify a locationby drawing a perimeter, specifying a point location, or by any othermeans. In an embodiment, system 72 may receive input from an authorizeduser via a user interface (not shown) displayed on display 24.

As shown, circular geofence 510 is defined with a reference point (i.e.,center point) located at the front of ACME Fitness with a radius of 400feet (or about 1.5 city blocks). A large geofence is initiallyestablished to attract a large number of potential customers to the saleof the ABC brand running shoes. In an embodiment, geofence 510 isdisplayed on map 500 of an area to enable the authorized user to viewthe extent or scope of geofence 510. In the current example, geofence510 is a circle with a radius defined in feet. In other embodiments, thegeofence area can be any polygon with a range of the area defined in anystandard unit of measure, such as miles, meters, feet, yards, or thelike.

Campaign association component 415 of system 72, as executed by computersystem/server 12, is configured to associate a campaign (e.g., a salesor marketing campaign) related to one or more products with a definedgeofence. As used herein, the term “product” includes any good orservice offered for sale at a venue. After a campaign has beenassociated with a geofence, mobile device users who have opted in toreceive push notifications via a mobile device may receive informationrelated to the campaign (e.g., product information, specials ordiscounts, etc.) when entering the geofence. In an embodiment, acampaign may be associated with a geofence via a user interface. In theACME Fitness example, an authorized user of ACME Fitness may associatethe sales campaign of the ABC brand running shoes with geofence 510 toattract potential customers. After the sales campaign has beenassociated with geofence 510, any mobile device users who have opted into receiving push notifications may receive information related to thecampaign (e.g., sale prices, specials, or discounts, etc.) when enteringgeofence 510.

Geofence modification component 420 of system 72, as executed bycomputer system/server 12, is configured to modify one or more aspects(as discussed below) of an established geofence based on an availabilityof a product. Product availability may be defined based on an inventoryof the product which may include the number of units of the product thatare ready or will be ready for sale. In a typical embodiment, theavailability of a product is based on a current remaining inventory ofthe product. In an embodiment, geofence modification component 420 mayreceive inventory data from a products database (not shown) which may becoupled to computer system/server 12. The products database may providestorage for a list of products including inventory data associated witheach product.

Referring back to the ACME Fitness example, assume a notificationrelated to the campaign (i.e., sale offer) is pushed to all mobiledevices entering into geofence 510 who have opted into the service.Shortly after the campaign begins, customers begin buying the runningshoes at the discounted rate that is provided with the sale offer thatis pushed to the mobile devices of the customers. Using the proposedinvention, geofence modification component 420 tracks the inventory ofthe running shoes and recognizes that the inventory has fallen below apredefined reduction threshold such that it no longer needs to attractquite as many people. Therefore, geofence modification component 420modifies an aspect of geofence 510 based on the remaining availabilityof the product.

In one example, the system dynamically begins pushing the sale offer toonly a reduced number (or subset) of mobile devices within geofence 510to account for the need to attract fewer customers. For example, assumethe inventory of the ABC running shoes begins at 1,000 pairs of shoesand a reduction threshold is defined at 100 pairs of running shoes. Whenthe inventory is reduced to below 100 pairs of running shoes, the saleoffer begins being pushed to only a subset of all mobile devices withingeofence 510 rather than all mobile devices. In an embodiment, thesubset may be defined based on a predefined percentage of users, aspecific demographic of users (e.g., age, gender, marital status, etc.),or the like. For example, when the inventory reaches 100 or below, thesale offer is pushed to only 10% of the available mobile devices withingeofence 510.

In another embodiment, a range of an area of a geofence may be reducedwhen a remaining inventory of a product falls below a predefined athreshold. Referring again to the ACME Fitness example, if the inventoryfalls below 100 pairs (i.e., predefined reduction threshold), the radiusof geofence 510 may be dynamically reduced from 400 feet to 200 feet(e.g., radius 560 of FIG. 5B) due to the need to attract fewercustomers. Any number of thresholds may be defined (e.g., via agraphical user interface screen accessible by an authorized user). Forexample, a second predefined reduction threshold of 50 pairs of runningshoes with a threshold radius of 50 feet may be defined for geofence 510so that if/when the remaining inventory falls below 50 pairs, then theradius of geofence 510 will be dynamically reduced again, this time to50 feet.

In yet another embodiment, a range of an area of a geofence may beexpanded, rather than reduced, based on an availability of a product. Inthe ACME Fitness example, if the inventory of the running shoes remainsabove a predefined expansion threshold for a predefined amount of time,the radius of geofence 510 may be dynamically increased to attract morecustomers. In this case, a duration of time or date/time may bespecified along with the expansion threshold. For example, if theinventory remains above the expansion threshold for the first two hoursof the campaign, then the radius may be expanded. In other words, if theinventory remains above 490 pairs for the first two hours of thecampaign, then the radius of geofence 510 may be expanded to 600 feet(e.g., radius 570 of FIG. 5B) to attract more customers to the sale.

In an embodiment, geofence modification component 420 continues trackingthe inventory of the running shoes and recognizes that the inventory hasfallen below a removal threshold such that it no longer needs to attractany additional customers. When a product from a campaign goes out ofstock or nearly out of stock, a geofence may become of little or novalue. Due to mobile device limitations that limit the number of activegeofences and to not exceed the availability of the product, it becomesextremely important that these geofences are managed efficiently. Sinceit may be easy for a person to forget to manually remove or disable anestablished geofence, it is imperative that these geofences be cleanedup (i.e., remove/disable) through automated means when no longer needed.Referring again to the ACME Fitness example, assume a removal thresholdis defined at five pairs of running shoes. When the current inventorydips below five pairs of running shoes, the system dynamically removesgeofence 510.

Referring now to FIG. 6, in conjunction with FIG. 4, an implementationof a process flowchart 600 for creating a dynamic geofence based on anavailability of a product to optimize a flow of customers to a venue isshown. At step 602, geofence definition component 410 established ageofence at a venue including a location and area of the geofence. Atstep 604, campaign association component 415 associates a campaign of aproduct (e.g., a sales promotion) with the established geofence. At step606, geofence modification component 420 receives inventory data relatedto the associated product. At step 608, a determination is made whetherthe remaining product inventory has fallen below a predefined unitthreshold. If so, at step 610, an aspect of the geofence is modifiedbased on the remaining inventory.

Process flowchart 600 of FIG. 6 illustrates the architecture,functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems,methods, and computer program products according to various embodimentsof the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchartmay represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises oneor more executable instructions for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks might occur out ofthe order depicted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently. It willalso be noted that each block of flowchart illustration can beimplemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform thespecified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Some of the functional components described in this specification havebeen labeled as systems or units in order to more particularly emphasizetheir implementation independence. For example, a system or unit may beimplemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits orgate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips,transistors, or other discrete components. A system or unit may also beimplemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, orthe like. A system or unit may also be implemented in software forexecution by various types of processors. A system or unit or componentof executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical orlogical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for instance, beorganized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, theexecutables of an identified system or unit need not be physicallylocated together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored indifferent locations which, when joined logically together, comprise thesystem or unit and achieve the stated purpose for the system or unit.

Further, a system or unit of executable code could be a singleinstruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed overseveral different code segments, among different programs, and acrossseveral memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identifiedand illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in anysuitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure.The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may bedistributed over different locations including over different storagedevices and disparate memory devices.

Furthermore, systems/units may also be implemented as a combination ofsoftware and one or more hardware devices. For instance, program/utility40 may be embodied in the combination of a software executable codestored on a memory medium (e.g., memory storage device). In a furtherexample, a system or unit may be the combination of a processor thatoperates on a set of operational data.

As noted above, some of the embodiments may be embodied in hardware. Thehardware may be referenced as a hardware element. In general, a hardwareelement may refer to any hardware structures arranged to perform certainoperations. In one embodiment, for example, the hardware elements mayinclude any analog or digital electrical or electronic elementsfabricated on a substrate. The fabrication may be performed usingsilicon-based integrated circuit (IC) techniques, such as complementarymetal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), bipolar, and bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS)techniques, for example. Examples of hardware elements may includeprocessors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g.,transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integratedcircuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmablelogic devices (PLD), digital signal processors (DSP), field programmablegate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor devices, chips,microchips, chip sets, and so forth. However, the embodiments are notlimited in this context.

Any of the components provided herein can be deployed, managed,serviced, etc., by a service provider that offers to deploy or integratecomputing infrastructure with respect to a process for creating adynamic geofence based on an availability of a product to optimize aflow of customers to a venue. Thus, embodiments herein disclose aprocess for supporting computer infrastructure, comprising integrating,hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable code into acomputing system (e.g., computer system/server 12), wherein the code incombination with the computing system is capable of performing thefunctions described herein.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method that performs theprocess steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/orfee basis. That is, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator,can offer to create, maintain, support, etc., a process for creating adynamic geofence based on an availability of a product to optimize aflow of customers to a venue. In this case, the service provider cancreate, maintain, support, etc., a computer infrastructure that performsthe process steps of the invention for one or more consumers. In return,the service provider can receive payment from the consumer(s) under asubscription and/or fee agreement, and/or the service provider canreceive payment from the sale of advertising content to one or morethird parties.

Also noted above, some embodiments may be embodied in software. Thesoftware may be referenced as a software element. In general, a softwareelement may refer to any software structures arranged to perform certainoperations. In one embodiment, for example, the software elements mayinclude program instructions and/or data adapted for execution by ahardware element, such as a processor. Program instructions may includean organized list of commands comprising words, values, or symbolsarranged in a predetermined syntax that, when executed, may cause aprocessor to perform a corresponding set of operations.

The present invention may also be a computer program product. Thecomputer program product may include a computer readable storage medium(or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon forcausing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network (for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network). The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and routes the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises andocument of manufacture including instructions which implement aspectsof the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagramblock or blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus, or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

It is apparent that there has been provided herein approaches forcreating a dynamic geofence based on an availability of a product tooptimize a flow of customers to a venue. While the invention has beenparticularly shown and described in conjunction with exemplaryembodiments, it will be appreciated that variations and modificationswill occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is to beunderstood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for creating adynamic geofence related to a venue, the method comprising:establishing, by a geofencing server connected via at least one datacommunication link to a plurality of content servers, the dynamicgeofence based on a reference point and an area having a range;associating, by the geofencing server, a campaign related to a productwith the dynamic geofence, the campaign promoting the product being soldat the venue; monitoring, by the geofencing server, a number ofremaining units of the product at the venue; and automaticallyoptimizing a flow of customers to the venue by modifying an aspect ofthe dynamic geofence based on an availability of the product, byutilizing GPS satellite location information communicated from aplurality of mobile devices to the geofencing server to: reduce apercentage of mobile devices within the range that are receiving thepromotion in response to a determination that the number of remainingunits at the venue is below a predefined reduction threshold; and expandthe range of the area in response to a determination that the numberremaining units at the venue remains above a predefined expansionthreshold for a predefined period of time.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the availability of the product includes aremaining inventory of the product.
 3. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising transmitting a notification related tothe campaign to a number of mobile devices within the area of thedynamic geofence.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, whereinmodifying an aspect of the dynamic geofence includes transmitting thenotification to a reduced number of mobile devices within the area ofthe dynamic geofence when the remaining inventory falls below apredefined reduction threshold.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 2, wherein modifying an aspect of the dynamic geofence includesreducing the range of the area of the dynamic geofence when theremaining inventory falls below a predefined reduction threshold.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising removing thedynamic geofence when the remaining inventory falls below a predefinedremoval threshold.
 7. A computer readable storage device having acomputer program product for creating a dynamic geofence related to avenue comprising program instructions stored on the computer readablestorage device, which, when executed by a computer device, areconfigured to: establish, by a geofencing server connected via at leastone data communication link to a plurality of content servers, thedynamic geofence based on a reference point and an area having a range;associate, by the geofencing server a campaign related to a product withthe dynamic geofence, the campaign promoting the product being sold atthe venue; monitor, by the geofencing server a number of remaining unitsof the product at the venue; automatically optimize a flow of customersto the venue by modifying an aspect of the dynamic geofence based on anavailability of the product, by utilizing GPS satellite locationinformation communicated from a plurality of mobile devices to thegeofencing server to: reduce a percentage of mobile devices within therange that are receiving the promotion in response to a determinationthat the number of remaining units at the venue is below a predefinedreduction threshold; and expand the range of the area in response to adetermination that the number remaining units at the venue remains abovea predefined expansion threshold for a predefined period of time.
 8. Thecomputer readable storage device of claim 7, wherein the availability ofthe product includes a remaining inventory of the product.
 9. Thecomputer readable storage device of claim 7, further comprising programinstructions to transmit a notification related to the campaign to anumber of mobile devices within the area of the dynamic geofence. 10.The computer readable storage device of claim 9, wherein modifying anaspect of the dynamic geofence includes transmitting the notification toa reduced number of mobile devices within the area of the dynamicgeofence when the remaining inventory falls below a predefined reductionthreshold.
 11. The computer readable storage device of claim 8, whereinmodifying an aspect of the dynamic geofence includes reducing the rangeof the area of the dynamic geofence when the remaining inventory fallsbelow a predefined reduction threshold.
 12. The computer readablestorage device of claim 7, wherein the reference point includes alatitude coordinate and a longitude coordinate and a measurementassociated with the range is selected from a group consisting of feet,yards, meters, and miles.
 13. A computer system for creating a dynamicgeofence related to a venue, the computer system comprising: a memorymedium comprising program instructions; a bus coupled to the memorymedium; and a processor for executing the program instructions, theinstructions causing the system to: establish, by a geofencing serverconnected via at least one data communication link to a plurality ofcontent servers, the dynamic geofence based on a reference point and anarea having a range; associate, by the geofencing server, a campaignrelated to a product with the dynamic geofence, the campaign promotingthe product being sold at the venue; monitor, by the geofencing server,a number of remaining units of the product at the venue; automaticallyoptimize a flow of customers to the venue by modifying an aspect of thedynamic geofence based on an availability of the product, by utilizingGPS satellite location information communicated from a plurality ofmobile devices to the geofencing server to: reduce a percentage ofmobile devices within the range that are receiving the promotion inresponse to a determination that the number of remaining units at thevenue is below a predefined reduction threshold; and expand the range ofthe area in response to a determination that the number remaining unitsat the venue remains above a predefined expansion threshold for apredefined period of time.
 14. The computer system of claim 13, whereinthe availability of the product includes a remaining inventory of theproduct.
 15. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising programinstructions to transmit a notification related to the campaign to anumber of mobile devices within the area of the dynamic geofence. 16.The computer system of claim 15, wherein modifying an aspect of thedynamic geofence includes transmitting the notification to a reducednumber of mobile devices within the area of the dynamic geofence whenthe remaining inventory falls below a predefined reduction threshold.17. The computer system of claim 14, wherein modifying an aspect of thedynamic geofence includes reducing the range of the area of the dynamicgeofence when the remaining inventory falls below a predefined reductionthreshold.